Semper Fi

Summary: Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler have not seen or spoken in over four years. However, a SVU case brings the former partners back together and on the course they were destined for.

Running on All Cylinders

Life for Olivia Benson was beginning to settle back into normalcy.
After breaking up with Brian, becoming a foster mother and being rid of that
psychopath William Lewis, she finally felt like she had settled into a routine.
That routine included juggling being a single mother and being in charge of the
Special Victims Unit. She wished she had more time to spend with Noah and
sometimes she was self-conscious about what the rest of her team thought about
her as a leader but overall life was good. There was still one aspect of her
life that still haunted her. Or better
yet one person.

She found herself thinking about her ex-partner less over the
years. It had been four years since she laid her eyes on Elliott Stabler. She
called him several times after he abruptly retired from the force but he didn't
answer and eventually she gave up. She was hurt more than she realized by his
ability to cut her off so easily with no explanation. She thought about going to
his house or even mailing a letter but both of those would cause her to
possibly have to come into contact with his wife Kathy and she didn't want to
make things uncomfortable. Olivia knew that Kathy tried to be nice to her over
the years and they were always cordial with each other especially during those
times Olivia helped them through personal situations like Eli's birth and finalizing
their divorce. However, she always felt
like Kathy was threatened or troubled by her and Elliott's relationship. It
bothered her at first but when she realized how much Elliott shared with her
that he didn't share with his wife she understood why Kathy had a problem with
her.

Their difficult triangle had gone on for years and Olivia was a
passive participant in the trials and tribulations of the Stabler household. Now that she had no contact with Elliot she
wondered if it was all a waste and why she spent so much time trying to repair
a relationship that clearly went on and sustained without her presence.

"Liv? Liv? You ok?" Fin asked.

"Oh. Yeah I'm fine. What's going on?" Olivia pulled
herself from her thoughts and turned back around to her desk trying to look
focused.

He approached her cautiously and looked worried. "Where'd you go just now? You looked
deep in thought."

She regained her composure and put her game face back on. "It's nothing, just wishing I was home
with Noah that's all. You have an update for me on that co-ed rape case?"

Fin bought her story and handed her the case file. "Yeah, same MO as the others. Followed
her home from the school library, raped her in one of the grassy areas near the
parking lot, tons of people around but no one saw or heard anything."

"Unbelievable," Olivia scoffed and slammed the file back
on her desk in frustration. She rubbed
her forehead willing her newly formed tension headache to go away.

"Yeah," Fin agreed. "NYU one of the biggest
campuses on this coast and no one knows or sees anything."

She stood up and sat on the edge of her desk going through another
case file. "That makes 3 rapes over
the last six weeks, the mayor is all over this one which means.."

"He's all over you,” Fin finished for her. “ We got it Liv. You know we got your back.
Rollins and I are going to camp out at the hospital and try and talk to the vic
again to see if there's something else she remembers."

"Thanks Fin,” she said patting him on the shoulder. “Keep me posted."

As Fin walked out the room, Olivia got another call from the
police commissioner asking for an update. Of course he also had a personal
stake in the case. Plenty of cops' children went to NYU and having a serial
rapist on the campus was starting to send a panic wave through the entire city
and the force. She already heard rumors that some of the police officers were
patrolling the school on their spare time. While she appreciated the help she
couldn't help but feel like it undermined her team. The commissioner seemed
frustrated that there were still no viable leads but she assured him that she
was working with the school to make sure that girls were walking in pairs and
campus security was on high alert but more than anything they just needed to
catch this guy.

Olivia didn't pull up to her building until 10:38pm. It was going
to be yet another night of not being able to tuck Noah in and another night
with poor Lucy having to sleep over because she got home so late. At this point
Lucy was at her house more than she was and she felt a little bad about it.

"It will all be over soon enough," she mumbled to
herself as she got out of the car and headed upstairs. As she walked in the
building she thought she felt a presence behind her somewhere. She turned around
and didn't see anyone but touched her hip to make sure her gun was there.

"Hi Olivia," Lucy whispered as Olivia tried to tiptoe
through the door.

"I'm so sorry I'm late again," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. He just went down about an hour ago. I
think he was waiting up for you," Lucy answered. She sighed, set down her bags and took off
her coat.

"Oh. Well tomorrow I will make sure I'm here to put him to
sleep," Olivia responded and Lucy could tell she was upset.

"Olivia, it's fine. That case of yours was on the news
tonight. Is it really a serial rapist on campus?" she asked
concerned. Lucy was also in school
although she didn’t go to NYU.

"Yeah, looks like it. But we are going to catch the son of a
bitch so don't worry. It's late why don't you just stay here again
tonight?" Olivia asked as she yawned.

"Sure."

She felt guilty that the nature of job affected Lucy at
times. She seemed a bit more paranoid
about everything since being exposed to the negative aspects of Olivia’s job
and the crimes she investigated.

She helped Lucy pick up the toys and baby gear that was laying on
the floor. "I'm just going to peek
in on Noah and then head to bed. Thanks again."

Olivia headed down the hall to Noah's room to give him a kiss
goodnight. Every night since she bought him home she found herself watching him
sleep sometimes and this night was no different. The world around her was
surrounded in craziness but when she walked in Noah's nursery everything seemed
so calm and serene. She felt like she could keep the rest of the world shut
out. He slept peacefully and he seemed so well adjusted and happy considering
her crazy schedule and the tumultuous first year of his life. She didn't want
to stay in the room too long to allow Lucy to come in and sleep on the day bed
in the nursery.

While in bed Olivia tossed and turned throughout the night. It
never seemed to amaze her that no matter how tired she was it had become increasingly
hard lately for her to sleep. Her mind was running on all cylinders and while
this may have been a stressful time for most people, for her this kind of life
was standard. However, with this case she knew she had to be at her best so she
began to rummage through her nightstand to find a book to read hoping that
would help put her to sleep.

As she dug through the drawer her fingers rubbed across a familiar
piece of metal. She didn't have to take it out of the nightstand to know what
it was. She ran her hands across it often but kept it in the drawer. Tonight
for the first time in a few months, she took it out. It was the badge that
Elliott gave her when he left with a note that said simply ‘Semper Fi’. She remembered the day it arrived at the
station in an unmarked envelope and how it almost brought her to tears to see
it was from him. One message that he
hadn’t bothered to pick up the phone to tell her but sent in the mail. She immediately googled the term to see what
it meant. It was a marine term that
meant "Always faithful."

She rubbed her hands across the badge and the note he wrote to her
and immediately felt the sadness take over her. She hated that he still had
this effect on her when it was evident that he was able to easily leave her and
not care. She used to carry the badge with her but felt betrayed that even
after what happened with William Lewis she had not heard from him. She may not
have thought of him as often as she used to but when she did, it left a huge
weight on her shoulders.

"Always faithful my ass," she said finally shoving the
badge back into her nightstand. She laid down in her bed and softly cried
herself to sleep. She felt like she had only slept an hour when she heard her
phone going off. It was Nick.

"Benson."

"Hey Liv sorry to wake you but we have another rape on
campus,” he reported. “This time though
he killed her.”

She rubbed her eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Dammit.
I'm on my way."

The clock next to her bed read 2:04 am. She dressed quickly and
left a note on the counter for Lucy and headed to the scene.

There were ambulances everywhere and students gathered around to
see what was going on. She saw that
press was starting to arrive. "Hey Nick what we got?"

"Twenty two year old victim Katarina Vickers. She was walking
home from the music building right across from the library. Looks like she put
up a hell of a fight but he cut her throat," he explained walking her over
to the young girl’s body.

She bent down to check over the body. She saw the defensive wounds and the young
brunette was dressed conservatively with her flute not far away from her. "Any fluids?"

"ME is checking her out now but it definitely looks like she
was raped. I think it's the same guy," Nick confirmed.

She shook her head looking over the girl who had lost her
life. She felt guilty that the perp was
escalating and someone paid for it with their life. "I can't believe this."

"Well there is some good news. We have a witness, the girl's
roommate. She's keeping it together pretty well under the circumstances."

"Ok, take me to her," she declared. They avoided the press that was now there in
full force and walked around the back of the music building.

Nick continued to give Olivia more details as they walked in to
talk with the victim's roommate. He looked around when he didn’t spot her right
away and they were both worried that she fled.
He asked one of the deputies if they had seen her and he pointed them
towards the seating area.

"Oh there she is," Nick called out as the young woman
with blonde hair approached them.

He approached her and pointed to Olivia, "Elizabeth this
is….."

"Olivia?! Oh my god," the young woman squealed clearly
happy to see her.

She stood still in shock not believing who was standing before
her. She hadn’t seen her in years and
the familiar feelings began to run through her.

"You two know each other?" Nick asked confused looking
between both of them. He hadn’t seen his
boss this startled in a long time.

brettylee:
The narrative is slick yet punchy. Life, Family and Friends I believe is the core message so it’s easy to relate to. It’s surprisingly action packed. The author does a good job at keeping you guessing. Just when you think all is right, whack, the unexpected happens. The dialogue is energetic and ...

Marimar Amieva:
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Rachel Mc Donald:
This was an awesome book a real page turner couldn't put it down . The characters all had a good back story . I love these kind of books and would read it if you decided to write a follow up book . Excellent work

jessica12301990:
One of the best books I have read in a while. Could not put it down, loved the characters and how real they felt. Read from start to finish without putting it down. Really hope this gets published and when it does I will be first in line to pick it up.

Hudson:
Your story was fantastic Erin! The Rising Sun was one of the first stories I read on Inkitt, and I have to say I don't regret the three to four days I spent pouring through the story.Probably the biggest strength I see in your writing is your characterisation of Eliana, Oriens, and the rest of th...

Samantha Speed:
There were several punctuation, grammar, and missing word problems but it did not detract from the story. This story was very well done, enjoyable, and had an interesting enough plot. It took a while to finish. This story is not complete. I love it, but I want to see another book or have more cha...

SandraHan1:
This story is very descriptive, with vivid scenes from the very beginning, which made for a good scene setting. I love the symbolism in names, such as “Naysayers”, “Hadd”, etc . The story itself is revolutionary, intriguing, emotional and exciting. I was very pleased to see that there is a happy ...

OpheliaJones:
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maewilde25:
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My face is full of tears, I never cried like now with a book or even a movie. I loved every single chapter. I truly don't know what to say, I'm out of words and my eyes hurt from crying. Such an bittersweet story, it's so wonderful. One of my favorites for sure. Keep it up!

Alani Foreigner:
I absolutely loved how you created this story. It isn't like the other cliché stories I've ever read. I had just started reading it yesterday and just had to finish it. The main characters are grotesquely awesome and I fell in love with them. If you're into fantasy and stuff I can guarantee that ...

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izzymerchant:
This book is truly special. The plot, the characters and the way the story flows is so engrossing and magical that I found it virtually impossible to put down. The character relationships were particularly fascinating and Melenthia's character was fascinating. Cannot wait to see what happens next!

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